Lockable latch mechanism for slidable sashes

ABSTRACT

The mechanism comprises a latch which is mounted to be manually reciprocated in a plane for engagement with a keeper, and a catch which is mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the plane, and yieldably biased to interengage with the latch when the latch is engaged with the keeper. It also comprises a catch release member which is mounted to reciprocate in a rectilinear path parallel to the plane, and rotatably mounted means which are operative to retract the catch from the latch, against the bias thereon, in response to reciprocation of the catch release member in one direction thereof.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Takao Toyota;

Klyoyaau Wake, both 01 Tokyo, Japan [21] Appl. No. 815,417 [22] Filed Apr. 11, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 17, 1971 [73] Assignee Fujlaaah lndustrles, Ltd.

Kawasaki, Japan [32] Priority Apr. 17, 1968, Dec. 20, 1968 [33] Japan [31] 43/25,267 and 43/989811 [54] LOCKABLE LATCH MECHANISM FOR SLIDABLE SASHES 13 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] 1.1.8. C1 292/106, 70/90, 70/276, 292/207, 292/241 [51 Int. Cl .,E05b 47/00, EOSb 65/08, EOSc 3/14 [50] Field Search 70/100, 276, 90;292/56,106, 120,202, 207, 218, 241, 251.5, 144, 302, 333, DIG. 30, DIG. 7, DIG. 20, DIG. 47, DIG. 46, DIG. 65

[$6] llelerencel Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 966,865 8/1910 Schuyler Primary Examiner-James A. Leppink Assistant Examiner-Robert L. Wolfe Attorney-Christensen, Sanbom & Matthews ABSTRACT: The mechanism comprises a latch which is mounted to be manually reciprocated in a plane for engagement with a keeper, and a catch which is mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the plane, and yieldably biaeed to interengage with the latch when the latch is engaged with the keeper. It also comprises a catch release member which is raounted to reciprocate in a rectilinear path parallel to the plane, and rotatably mounted means which are operative to retract the catch from the latch, against the bias thereon, ia reaponee to reciprocation of the catch release member in one direction thereolf' LOCKABLE LATCH MECHANISM FOR SLIDABLE SASI-IES FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a latch mechanism for slidable sashes, and more particularly to a latch mechanism of this nature which can be locked in the latched position thereof BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION INCLUDING CERTAIN OBJECTS THEREOF A sliding window sash which is fastened simply by means of an inside latch is easily opened from the outside by breaking the window glass in the region immediately adjacent the latch. One object of the present invention is to provide a latch mechanism for sliding window sashes which is remote control locked against an unlawful attempt to enter by burning or otherwise removing the glass in the immediate area of the latch.

Another object is to provide such a mechanism which is locked against entry unless a large area of the glass is removed or broken away, such as the whole lower half of the glass.

A still further object is to provide a latch mechanism of this type which is of simple and durable construction and pleasing in appearance; and which is released by a movable actuator that is permanently retained in the sash at an inoperative position remote from the latch mechanism.

Other objects will become apparent from the description of the invention which follows hereafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These objects and advantages are realized by a latch mechanism of our invention which comprises a latch that is mounted to be manually reciprocated in a plane, for engagement with a keeper, and a catch which is mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the plane, and yieldably biased to interengage with the latch when the latch is engaged with the keeper. The latch mechanism also comprises a catch release member which is mounted to reciprocate in a rectilinear path parallel to the plane, and rotatably mounted means which are operative to retract the catch from the latch, against the bias thereon, in response to reciprocation of the catch release member in one direction thereof.

Preferably, the catch retraction means includes a bellcrank lever which is mounted to rotate about an axis transverse to the path of the catch release member. For example, the catch release member may have a slot therein, and the bell crank lever may be interposed in the slot thereof.

The catch is preferably slidably guided in a rectilinear path perpendicular to the plane of reciprocation of the latch.

Also, the mechanism preferably further comprises a manually displaceable stop which is operable to retain the catch in the retracted position thereof against the bias thereon, and yieldable biasing means operable to reciprocate the catch release member in the other direction thereof when the stop is displaced to reengage the catch with the latch. It also further comprises means for returning the stop to the operative position thereof when the catch release member is reciprocated in the one direction thereof. For example, the stop may be mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the path of the catch release member, and yieldably biased to intercept the catch release member when the catch is retracted from the latch against the bias thereon; and there may be a second stop with which the catch release member is yieldably biased into abutment when the first-mentioned stop is displaced to reengage the catch with the latch.

In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the mechanism further comprises manually operated means for reciprocating the catch release member in the one direction thereof, including a slidably guided actuator member which is normally spaced apart from the catch release member when the catch release member is abutted against the second stop.

Preferably, the catch release member is slidably guided in a path parallel to that of the actuator member.

In these embodiments moreover, the mechanism further comprises a housing for the catch release member, and a magnetic lock device interengaged between the housing and the catch release member, there being means on the actuator member operative to deactivate the magnetic lock when the catch release member is reciprocated in the one direction thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood by references to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a part perspective view of a paired sliding window sash assembly, showing the meeting stiles of the same and a lockable latch mechanism thereon;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the principal components of the latch mechanism as they are exploded from the stile of the inside sash;

FIG. 3 is a part vertical cross-sectional view of the stile of the inside sash, showing the latch mechanism in the locked and latched condition;

FIG. 4 is another such part vertical cross-sectional view, showing the mechanism in unlocked and unlatched condition; and

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4, showing the stile of the inside sash and the latch mechanism thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the lockable latch mechanism 2 is enclosed in a parallelepipedal box casing 4 which is covered at the rear by a lid 6 and installed in the cavity 8 of a hollow upright tubular rail 10 forming the meeting stile of the inside sash 12. The forward portion of the casing includes a generally rectangular mounting block 14, the front face 15 of which has a raised surface 16 thereon, and the rear face 18 of which has a deeply relieved step configuration as it is seen in vertical cross section. One step 18' of the face 18 has a mounting plate 20 attached thereto, and the principal components of the latch mechanism 2 are mounted between the plate 20 and the lid 6; although they also include a handleoperated crescent latch 24 which is disposed outside of the casing 4 opposite the front face 15 thereof, to be engaged with a keeper element 26 on the stile 28 of the other sash 30. The crescent latch 24 has a spindle 32 thereon and the spindle is rotatably joumaled in a horizontal bore 34 extending between the plate 20 and the front face 15 of the casing, in the raised portion 16 of the block. The spindle 32 is retained in the bore 34 by means of an elastic clip 36 which is engaged in a circumferential groove 38 formed on the end portion of the spindle which projects to the rear of the mounting plate 20. In addition, the spindle 32 has a flat, longitudinally extending chordal surface 32' formed on one side thereof, and a leaf spring 40 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is engaged in slots 42 in the body of the block adjacent the bore 34, so as to interrupt the rotation of the spindle when the surface 32 arrives at the angular position thereof.

The lid 6 is attached to the casing 4 by means of a spacer stud 44 which is interposed between the plate 20 and the lid, and affixed thereto by means of screws 46 and 48. The stud 44 provides a clearance in which the components of the latch mechanism 2 are operatively housed, and these include a recessed pushbutton cap 50 which is slidably guided on a shorter stud 52 projecting perpendicularly inwardly from and attached to the lid by screw 53. The cap has a coiled spring 54 caged in the recess 56 thereof to bias it in the forward direction of the casing, and there is an opening 58 in the front face 15 of the casing which allows the cap to project into view therefrom. The body 50' of the cap has a square flange 60 on the recessed end thereof, and also a fillet lug 62 which is upstanding on the upper side thereof adjacent the flange 60. The

flange 60 and lug 62 operate to retain the cap at alternate horizontally displaced positions in the casing, as shall be explained shortly hereinafter.

A bellcrank lever 64 is pivotally mounted on the rear face of the mounting plate 20 by means of a hinge 66. The end section 68' of the upper arm 68 of the lever 64 is reduced in width, whereas the end section 70' of the lower arm 70 is bifurcated to form a yoke. The raised portion 16 of the block has an additional bore 72 therein, and a rearwardly flanged catch pin 74 is saddled in the bight of the yoke 70' and slidably engaged in the bore 72 to enter an opposing recess 76 in the rear face of the crescent latch 24. The recessed flange 74' on the pin 74 bears against the yoke 70 in the sense of rotating the lever 64 in the clockwise direction about the hinge 66, and a bias in this direction is generated by a coiled spring 78 interposed between the pin 74 and the lid 6 of the casing. Thus, the pin 74 is normally biased to engage in the recess 76 of the latch, in the absence of a countcrbias on the part of the yoke 70.

The pin 74 is withdrawn from the recess 76 of the latch by means of a catch release slider 80 which is suspended from the pushbutton cap 50 in the clearance between the plate 20 and the lid, to be raised against the upper arm 70 of the lever. The slider 80 comprises an elongated generally rectangular plate 82 which is bent into a stepped configuration and equipped with various holes and flanges as seen in FIG. 2. At the top, it has a pair of rearwardly directed flanges 84 on the side edges thereof, and a somewhat vertically prolate hole 86 therebetween adapted to receive the body 50' of the pushbutton cap and the lug 62 thereon. Below the hole 86, the plate 82 is stepped through two shoulders 88 and 90, and has an additional horizontally slotted hole 92 therebetween which is adapted to receive the reduced end section 68 of the upper arm of the lever. Further down, the plate 82 is stepped in the opposite direction to form a third shoulder 94 thereon, and in the intermediate section 82" of the plate between the shoulders, there are third and fourth apertures 96 and 98 which are vertically prolate and adapted to receive the spring 78 of the catch pin 74 and the spacer stud 44, respectively. When the slider 80 is mounted inside the casing 4, the flanges 84 thereon are slidably engaged with the sidewalls 4' of the casing, and the intermediate and bottom sections 82" and 82" of the same are slidably engaged with the lid 6 and the base 14' of the block 14, respectively. The various apertures in the slider are sized so that it can be lifted from the position of FIG. 3 in which it rests on the body 50' of the cap, to the position of FIG. 4 wherein it rests on the lug 62 of the cap. This upward stroke operates to withdraw the catch pin 74 from the latch, and simultaneously, the cap spring 54 drives the cap forward so as to retain the slider in its upper position. Note that initially in FIG. 3, the lug 62 of the cap is abutted against the back side of the slider, and the upper arm 68' of the lever is received in the slotted hole 92, slightly above the shoulder 90. When the slider 80 is raised to the position of FIG. 4, the shoulder 90 abuts the arm 68' and pivots the lever 64 in the counterclockwise direction against the bias of the catch pin spring 78, to withdraw the pin 74 from the recess 76 of the latch. Simultaneously, the uppermost hole 86 in the slider assumes a position in which the bias of spring 54 drives the lug 62 into the hole to maintain the slider in the raised position of FIG. 4.

The slider is raised through the above stroke by an actuator 100 which is slidably engaged in the cavity 8 of stile 10, below the latch casing 4. The actuator I has a solid parallelepipedal body portion 100', and a raised lip 102 on the upper back thereof which is adapted to slidably insert between the bottom section 82" of the slider and the lid 6 of the easing. In addition, the actuator has a knob 104 formed on the front face thereof which projects relatively outwardly from the stile through a vertical slot 106 formed in the end face 10 thereof. The actuator normally rests on a bumper 108 (FIG. I) at the bottom of the stile and is raised only by lifting it up through the cavity 8 of the stile with the knob 104. Near the end of its stroke, the lip I02 abuts the shoulder 94 of the slider and lifts the slider through the remainder of its stroke, that is, through the shorter stroke of the slider to the position of FIG. 4.

In the same motion, the actuator 100 also releases the slider from a magnetically actuated pin-locking device 110 employed in the casing 4. The base 14' of the mounting block has a horizontal bore 112 therein, and a pair of spaced, oppositely disposed permanent magnets I14 and 6 are installed in the bore. The left-hand or relatively inside magnet [14 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is fixed to the block; whereas the right-hand or relatively outside magnet l 16 is slidably engaged in the bore 112, and because of the polarity of the magnets is normally biased in the right-hand or outward direction of the bore. The bottom section 82" of the slider has a small recess 118 in the front face thereof which is adapted to receive the right-hand magnet 1 16 so that in the lower position of the slider in FIG. 3, it is interengaged with the base l4 of the casing by the locking pin action of the magnet 1 16.

The locking pin magnet 116 is disabled by a third permanent magnet 120 housed in the front face of the lip 102 of the actuator 100. The lip magnet 120 is polarized in relation to the fixed and slidable magnets 114 and H6 in the block, and sufficiently stronger than the fixed magnet 114, so that when the actuator 100 is raised to the inserted position of FIG. 4, the lip magnet 120 operates to drive the pin magnet I 16 back into the bore 1 12 in the base of the block. The slider 80 is thus freed to be lifted by the actuator through the the motion described previously, thus releasing the primary catch pin 74 from the latch 24. Thereafter, the latch can be swung in a clockwise direction (FIG. I) so as to disengage it from the keeper element 26 on the stile 28 of the outside sash 30.

When it is desired to refasten the sashes, the latch is swung in the opposite or counterclockwise direction to reengage the keeper element. This motion exposes the protruding end of the pushbutton cap, and the latch can be relocked by pressing the cap inwardly of the casing so as to enable the spring 78 to return the pin to the latch as the slider is depressed by the action of the upper arm bearing on the shoulder of the slider. Thereafter, the cap is retained in its rearwardly displaced position by the fact that the upper section 82' of the slider bears once again against the body of the cap. Also the locking pin magnet 116 is reengaged in the recess 118 as the slider assumes its lower position.

The base 14' of the casing, the slider 80 and the actuator are all constructed of nonmagnetic material such as aluminum, brass, and the like, so as to not interfere with the secondary lock action of the magnets I14, 116, and 120.

What we claim is:

1. In a latch mechanism, a latch mounted to be manually reciprocated in a plane, for engagement with a keeper, a catch which is mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the plane, and yieldably biased to interengage with the latch when the latch is engaged with the keeper, a catch release member which is mounted to reciprocate in a rectilinear path parallel to the plane, and rotatably mounted means operative to retract the catch from the latch, against the bias thereon, in response to reciprocation of the catch release member in one direction thereof.

2. The latch mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the catch retraction means includes a bellcrank lever which is mounted to rotate about an axis transverse to the path of the catch release member.

3. The latch mechanism according to claim I further comprising a manually displaceable stop which is operable to retain the catch in the retracted position thereof against the bias thereon, and yieldable biasing means operable to reciprocate the catch release member in the other direction thereof when the stop is displaced to reengage the catch with the latch.

4. The latch mechanism according to claim 3 further comprising means for returning the stop to the operative position thereof when the catch release member is reciprocated in the one direction thereof.

5. The latch mechanism according to claim 4 wherein the stop is mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the path of the catch release member, and yieldably biased to intercept the catch release member when the catch is retracted from the latch against the bias thereon.

6. The latch mechanism according to claim 3 wherein there is a second stop, and the catch release member is yieldably biased into abutment with the second stop when the first-mentioned stop is displaced to reengage the catch with the latch.

7. The latch mechanism according to claim 6 further comprising manually operated means for reciprocating the catch release member in the one direction thereof including a slidably guided actuator member which is normally spaced apart from the catch release member when the catch release member is abutted against the second stop.

8. The latch mechanism according to claim 7 wherein the catch release member is slidably guided in a path parallel to that of the actuator member.

9. The latch mechanism according to claim 7 further comprising a housing for the catch release member, and a magnetic lock device interengaged between the housing and the catch release member, there being means on the actuator member operative to deactivate the magnetic lock when the catch release member is reciprocated in the one direction thereof.

10. The latch mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the catch release member has a slot therein, and the catch retraction means includes a bellcrank lever which is mounted to rotate about an axis transverse to the path of the catch release member, and interposed in the slot thereof.

11. The latch mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the catch is slidably guided in a rectilinear path perpendicular to the plane of reciprocation of the latch.

12. In a stile of a slidable sash, a latch mounted to be manually reciprocated in a plane parallel to the stile for engagement with a keeper, a catch which is mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the stile, and yieldably biased to interengage with the latch when the latch is engaged with the keeper, a catch release member which is slidably guided to reciprocate longitudinally of the stile, and rotatably mounted means operative to retract the catch from the latch, against the bias thereon, in response to reciprocation of the release member in one direction thereof.

13. The sash according to claim 12 wherein the catch retraction means includes a bellcrank lever which is mounted to rotate about an axis transverse to the path of the catch release member. 

1. In a latch mechanism, a latch mounted to be manually reciprocated in a plane, for engagement with a keeper, a catch which is mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the plane, and yieldably biased to interengage with the latch when the latch is engaged with the keeper, a catch release member which is mounted to reciprocate in a rectilinear path parallel to the plane, and rotatably mounted means operative to retract the catch from the latch, against the bias thereon, in response to reciprocation of the catch release member in one direction thereof.
 2. The latch mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the catch retraction means includes a bellcrank lever which is mounted to rotate about an axis transverse to the path of the catch release member.
 3. The latch mechanism according to claim 1 further comprising a manually displaceable stop which is operable to retain the catch in the retracted position thereof against the bias thereon, and yieldable biasing means operable to reciprocate the catch release member in the other direction thereof when the stop is displaced to reengage the catch with the latch.
 4. The latch mechanism according to claim 3 further comprising means for returning the stop to the operative position thereof when the catch release member is reciprocated in the one direction thereof.
 5. The latch mechanism according to claim 4 wherein the stop is mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the path of the catch release member, and yieldably biased to intercept the catch release member when the catch is retracted from the latch against the bias thereon.
 6. The latch mechanism according to claim 3 wherein there is a second stop, and the catch release member is yieldably biased into abutment with the second stop when the first-mentioned stop is displaced to reengage the catch with the latch.
 7. The latch mechanism according to claim 6 further comprising manually operated means for reciprocating the catch release member in the one direction thereof including a slidably guided actuator member which is normally spaced apart from the catch release member when the catch release member is abutted against the second stop.
 8. The latch mechanism according to claim 7 wherein the catch release member is slidably guided in a path parallel to that of the actuator member.
 9. The latch mechanism according to claim 7 further comprising a housing for the catch release member, and a magnetic lock device interengaged between the housing and the catch release member, there being means on the actuator member operative to deactivate the magnetic lock when the catch release member is reciprocated in the one direction thereof.
 10. The latch mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the catch release member has a slot therein, and the catch retraction means includes a bellcrank lever which is mounted to rotate about an axis transverse to the path of the catch release member, and interposed in the slot thereof.
 11. The latch mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the catch is slidably guided in a rectilinear path perpendicular to the plane of reciprocation of the latch.
 12. In a stile of a slidable sash, a latch mounted to be manually reciprocated in a plane parallel to the stile for engagement with a keeper, a catch which is mounted to reciprocate in a path transverse to the stile, and yieldably biased to interengage with the latch when the latch is engaged with the keeper, a catch release member which is slidablY guided to reciprocate longitudinally of the stile, and rotatably mounted means operative to retract the catch from the latch, against the bias thereon, in response to reciprocation of the release member in one direction thereof.
 13. The sash according to claim 12 wherein the catch retraction means includes a bellcrank lever which is mounted to rotate about an axis transverse to the path of the catch release member. 